In her 1943 novel She Came to Stay, Simone de Beauvoir has her heroine articulate a fundamental problem of existence, that of "Having to live only in my own skin when the world is so vast." In his new novel, 4 3 2 1, Paul Auster offers a solution.
Writers and readers always cheat the system a little; books allow us to inhabit identities and live lives outside of our own immediate experience. All the same, the characters therein still only get one go at life. Unless, that is, you’re Archibald Isaac Ferguson, the multi-selved protagonist of Auster’s arresting Bildungsroman.
Born in Newark, New Jersey on March 3, 1947, Archie’s life takes four simultaneous but parallel routes; small, often seemingly inconsequential twists of fate initiating a rich multitude of variables. These “endlessly forking paths a person must confront as he walks through life” thrown into sharp relief, Archie is elevated to something of a modern picaresque hero, each of his four selves strikingly different but at the same time instantly recognisable.
Certain things remain constant. His close relationship with his mother, for example, particularly notable since that with his father differs vastly depending on the tale in question. His attraction to the charismatic Amy Schneidermann who becomes in turn the love of his life; his first adolescent fling; and the stepsister he lusts after at a distance. Then there’s the significance of the written word, a different pen man to suit each of his writerly-selves: the journalist, A I Ferguson; Archie Ferguson, the precociously young memoirist who writes about his love affair with the movies of Laurel and Hardy; and finally, the experimental novelist at the beginning of his career, Isaac Ferguson.
What of his fourth nom de plume? Well – spoiler alert – one of the tales comes to an abrupt early end when one Archie dies during his teenage years. (Like many elements of the novel this is apparently based on Auster’s own experience, when, as a boy, he witnessed the death of one of his peers at summer camp.)
Auster’s attention to detail is remarkable, and each of Archie’s lives is drawn as clearly and densely as the next. As such, cutting one down in his prime isn’t exactly an unexpected move. Maintaining this level of detail for three existences is feat enough, four would have been little short of astonishing.
In an attempt to avoid confusion, the novel is split into seven sections – since only a period of 20-odd years is covered: the seven ages of Archie Ferguson’s youth – each of which is then subdivided into four parts (one for each life).
With such a strictly delineated structure in place, I found myself initially thinking of the project as four disparate novellas presented together in the form of a collected works, ‘Prolusions of a life’, perhaps – the title, taken from that of Milton’s collected early works, of Isaac Ferguson’s first published collection.
The preliminary aspect holds, but as is made clear by means of some distinctly postmodern wrangling in the final chapter, Auster’s vision is of a unified whole. I won’t give away the details, but suffice to say, it’s not the most original of conclusions.
Does this matter? Yes and no. 4 3 2 1 is a novel that somehow succeeds despite itself. The historical material – like any great American novel worth its salt, the political is charted alongside the personal – often feels crowbarred in, detracting from the work's strongest element: the richness of each Archie's inner experience.
Then there’s the prose itself, which is decidedly verbose. It’s not uncommon for a single sentence, clause heaped upon clause heaped upon clause, to run to the length of an entire paragraph. I’d quote one of the more impressive here, but I literally don’t have the space. And Auster consistently insists on telling rather than showing the story.
One can’t deny the audaciousness of such writing. No sooner than he’s lulled us into believing in the open-endedness of chance, for example, that no set path awaits us, our futures are always still to be written, he suddenly blithely undermines his own assertions with an unexpected early reveal of a set-in-stone conclusion.
Such moments provided flashes of real emotion, stopping me in my tracks, but ultimately I needed more of them. 4 3 2 1 is a hugely accomplished work, a novel unlike any other – a cousin to Kate Atkinson's Life After Life, perhaps, though a distant one at that – but at nearly 900 pages, the pleasure of the pay-off falls slightly short of the commitment it requires.
Lucy Scholes is a freelance reviewer based in London.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
Ponti
Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Company%20profile
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Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
The specs: 2018 Audi R8 V10 RWS
Price: base / as tested: From Dh632,225
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 540hp @ 8,250rpm
Torque: 540Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L / 100km
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
